Quan Ba Twin Mountains

The Quan Ba pass is the gate to the Dong Van karst plateau geopark - the road climbs out of the lowlands and the country changes completely at the top - and from the viewpoint there the valley floor below holds two almost identical rounded conical hills standing on flat ground among the rice, which are geologically cones of residual limestone left as the surrounding rock dissolved. The local H'mong name and the story attached to them belong to a fairy, and the Vietnamese name is nui doi, the twin mountains. Tam Son town is below, and the plateau begins immediately north.

Highlights

• Two symmetrical conical hills - residual limestone on a flat valley floor.
• The gate to the Dong Van plateau - where the country changes at the pass.
• A viewpoint at the top - looking down on the valley.
• Tam Son below - the town on the valley floor.

When to go

September to November and March to May. Two hours.

What to expect

It is a viewpoint stop of twenty minutes, and the viewpoint charges. Haze and cloud frequently spoil it. It is on the standard Ha Giang loop, so tour groups arrive together. The road is winding.

Nearby

Tam Son is below; Yen Minh and the plateau are north.